7. Chicago Bulls: Kahlil Whitney, F, Kentucky
This is a name that doesn’t appear this high on other mock drafts around the web, but I have a hard time ignoring his overall package to knock him down any lower.
Kahlil Whitney is a powerhouse wing who has enough skill and finesse to put him in a category other than a small-ball PF, a trend that’s becoming overused in today’s NBA.
He’s not the flashiest ball handler and the jump shot certainly needs work to turn into something conceivable from NBA distance, but Whitney has enough tricks in his bag to score in bunches.
Thankfully, he has enough touch on shots around the rim as well as from mid-range to get baskets in ways other than bully ball, which is huge for a player who’s been built for years to just overpower opponents in high school.
Wings who just look to physically beat down their opponents near the basket haven’t panned out in recent memory (Josh Jackson and Stanley Johnson come to mind first). Whitney isn’t like those guys in that he actually wants to diversify himself on the perimeter and shoot.
I’m confident John Calipari will make sure Whitney has enough touches at Kentucky to get himself drafted in the lottery, that’s just how they function over there at the “draft factory” of the NCAA ranks.